"Now I must not go in and talk to them again," she thought, "and I must never see Ashley again tonight, nor comfort him again." Absolutely not tonight! I'll come back early tomorrow morning, finish what needs to be done, and finish the comforting words that need to be said. But definitely not tonight! I can't stand it. I want to go home. ”

The home is not far away, only five blocks away. She didn't want to wait for a crying Peter to set her horse and prepare her for a chariot, nor did she want to wait for Dr. Mead to drive her. She couldn't stand Peter's tears, nor Dr. Mead's silent rebuke. So without going in to get her coat and hat, she hurried down the dark front steps and into the foggy night. She turned a corner and walked up the long slope that led to Peachtree Street. Although the road was wet, everything was silent, and even her footsteps did not make a sound, as if in a dream.

She walked up the slope, feeling tears in her chest but not flowing. At the same time, she had a trance-like feeling, as if she had been in such a cold and dark place before, in the same environment more than once but many times. I'm stupid, she thought uneasily, quickening her pace. It was her nervousness playing tricks on her, but this trance feeling haunted her and refused to leave, and slowly penetrated into her whole heart. She looked around suspiciously, and the terrifying and familiar feeling intensified, and she suddenly raised her head like an animal that sensed danger. It was all because I was exhausted, and she tried to comfort herself. It's weird tonight, the fog is so big. I've never seen such a big fog before, except for one!

Suddenly, she remembered, and fear welled up in her heart at the same time. She remembered. She had run through such fog in countless nightmares in the past, passing through a place with no landmarks and frequent ghosts, a cold fog that shrouded all around, full of ghosts and ghosts with teeth and claws. Is she dreaming again, or is it being fulfilled?

Suddenly, she seemed to have left the real world, dazed and didn't know where she had been. The nightmarish feeling came back at her, and it was stronger than before, making her heart beat wildly. Once again, she was trapped in the abyss of death and silence, just as she had been at Tara Manor. All the glory and wealth of the world no longer existed, life was in ruins, and only panic roared in her chest like a cold wind. The terror caused by the fog caught her deadly. She started running. Like countless nightmares in the past, she was now driven by a nameless fear, running blindly without a goal, desperately trying to find a safe place in that fog.

She ran down the dark street, her head bowed, her heart pounding, the damp night air on her lips, the trees rising by the roadside seemed to be threatening her. There must be a hiding place in this damp and silent wilderness! She ran breathlessly along the long slope, her wet skirt cold around her ankles, her lungs bursting, her tight bodice pressing against her ribs against her heart.

Suddenly, a little light faintly appeared in front of me, followed by a row of lights. It's vague and uncertain, but it's real. There had never been a light in the past nightmares, just a gray fog. Her heart was captured by the lights at once. Because light means safety, it means people, it means reality. She stopped suddenly, clenched her fists, trying to drive away the fear in her heart. Her eyes were fixed on the gas lamps, because they were the ones that showed her that this was Peachtree Street in Atlanta, not the haunted dream world.

She gasped for breath as she sat down heavily on a drop-off platform. She clutched her nerves as if they were ropes that were rapidly slipping out of her grasp.

"I've been running, I've been running like a madman!" She thought, her whole body was still trembling, but she was not so scared, but her heart was still pounding, and she wanted to vomit. "But where am I going?"

Her breathing was relatively steady now, and she sat there with her hands crossed on her hips, her eyes looking at Peachtree Street in front of her. At the end of the slope is her house. The house looked as if there were lights on in every window, and the lights were bright enough to dispel the fog in front of them. Ah, that's home! A real home! Looking at the vague outline of the house in the distance, she couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude and longing in her heart, and she seemed to feel a kind of peace in her spirit.

Family! That's where she wants to go, that's where she's desperately running to go. Go home and find Ritter!

The thought of this made her feel as if she had broken free from her chains, and the fear she had always felt in her dreams was gone. Ever since she had fled all the way back to Tara Manor that night, and found that the world was nearing the end of the world, this fear had often haunted her dreams. As soon as she arrived at Tara Manor that night, she found herself without security, without all her strength, all her wisdom, all her tenderness, all her understanding—all of the things that had been in Ellen to keep her girlhood alive. Although she later gained material security, she was still a frightened child in her dreams, still searching for the lost safety and the lost world.

Only now did she realize where the refuge she had been looking for in her dreams, the warm and safe place that had been obscured by the fog. That warm and safe place is not Ashley, it is not Ashley! Ashley was like a methane lamp, he didn't have much warmth on his body, he was like quicksand, not safe at all. That warm and safe place is Rhett. For Ritter had the firm arms that could hold her in his arms, the broad chest that allowed her to snuggle her tired head against it, and the mocking laughter that kept her sober about everything. Ritter is also fully understanding, because he, like her, is realistic and does not be blinded by unrealistic notions of fame, sacrifice, or noble beliefs. He loves her! Why didn't she notice that he loved her, despite the usual sneering at her? But Melanie had already seen this, and before she died, she told her to "treat him well".

"Oh," she thought, "I, like Ashley, am as stupid and blind as Ashley. I should have seen it a long time ago. ”

Over the years, she has been leaning against the wall of love of Ritter, but her love for him has never been taken to heart, just as she has never taken Melanie's love to heart, thinking that her strength comes from herself. Earlier tonight, she realized that Melanie had stood shoulder to shoulder with her during her many fierce battles with fate. Now she realizes that Ritter has been silently hiding behind the scenes, loving her, understanding her, and ready to lend her a helping hand. At the bazaar, it was Ritter who saw her desire to dance and took her to the Virginia dance; It was Ritter who helped her get rid of the shackles of widowhood; On the night of the fall of Atlanta, it was Ritter who braved the fire and a hail of bullets to escort her out of danger; It was Ritter who lent her money to start her own business; Whenever she woke up crying from a nightmare in the middle of the night, it was Rhett who comforted her by the side, oh, if you don't love a woman to the point of madness, what man would do this?

The dew from the trees fell on her, but she didn't notice it. The fog swirled around her, and she ignored it. For the thought of Rhett, of his swarthy face, his shining white teeth, and his clever black eyes, made her tremble.

"I love him," she thought. As ever, she accepted the fact without hesitation, just as a child accepts a gift. "I don't know how long I've loved him, but I do. If it weren't for Ashley, I would have realized this. I have never seen anything in this world clearly, because Ashley is blocking my view. ”

She loved him, this scoundrel, the scoundrel, the scruples, the shame of his reputation, at least the kind of reputation that Ashley had in mind. "To hell with Ashley's scruples!" She thought, "Ashley's reputation for scruples has always deceived me. Yes, from the very beginning when he used to visit me, I was deceived, because he knew that the family had asked him to marry Melanie. Crett never fooled me. Even on that terrible night when Melanie threw her birthday party for Ashley, he should have broken my neck, but he pulled me up. Even if he left me on the road on the night of the fall of Atlanta, it was because he knew I was out of danger and there was always a way to get home safely. Even when I borrowed money from him in the prisoner of war camp of the Northern Army, and he asked me to vouch for my body, it was only a test for me, and he would never spoil me. In short, he has always loved me, and I have been so mean to him. I hurt him again and again, and he didn't have a seizure for the sake of his face. When Meilan died, I was so unexpectedly unkind, how could I be so unkind? ”